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Match.com

Duo found guilty of defrauding Match.com users of nearly £250,000

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By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

September 9, 2014 | 3 min read

Two men have been found guilty of fraud after they conned a dozen women out of nearly a quarter of a million pounds on dating website Match.com.

Match.com went live in early 1995 as a free beta

The swindlers, Monty Emu, 28, of Hampshire and Adewunmi Nusi, 37, of Berkshire, were found guilty of money laundering after they siphoned hundreds of thousands of pounds from unsuspecting Match.com users.

After creating a fictional account of a silver-tongued, middle-aged-man called ‘James Richards’ designed to romantically converse with women on the site, the men would later ask victims for cash in order to access 'Richard's' fictional £100m inheritance in India.

Using the digital service, the men duped online matches with flattering conversations such as: “I knew our friendship would grow from the first day we spoke but neither one of us could imagine the love exploding, now thundering into our hearts."

As the fraudsters cemented relationships with the victims, 'Richards' started requesting cash. One woman was asked for a £700 legal fee, while another, Suzanne Hardman, handed the group £174,000.

The court will sentence the quartet next month and the “ill-gotten” money may be confiscated.

Det Con Darrin Carey, of Hampshire Constabulary, said: "The women were duped into thinking that they were talking to a man who was genuinely looking for love on the dating website match.com.

"Unfortunately for them, they were part of an elaborate scam."

A Match.com spokesperson told the Drum: “Unfortunately, there is a tiny minority of people out there who want to exploit others over the internet. We advise people to use the same common sense as they would if they were meeting someone in a bar or a pub.

“We give lots of safe-dating advice on our site and in emails to members. This makes it clear that you should never send money to anyone you meet online."

“We invest heavily in the latest technology alongside a dedicated team of people and work closely with the authorities to make dating as safe as we can.”

This comes after a senior London policeman last week said the police are powerless to stop the vast majority of online fraud - as its perpetrators are based overseas, out of the UK police service's jurisdiction.

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